EC4511: Industrial Automation and Process Control

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Faculty of Engineering
B.Sc. Eng. (Hons) – Year 04, Semester 02

Assignment

In this assignment you are required to design an automated system for the requirements
described below.

The system includes a feeder mechanism which will feed objects to the conveyor for further
processing. The user can stack objects inside a feeding chamber (dimensions may vary
depending on the object). An actuator is to be used to feed objects on to a conveyor one after
the other. A motor-controlled belt conveyor of 1m length is used to move objects fed from the
feeder mechanism.

In addition, a sorting mechanism is used to categorize the fed objects according to the user
requirement as defined under sorting object table below. Separate actuators are used at two
positions along the conveyor belt to choose the required object, when moving on the conveyor.
Note: According to the last digit of your Student ID, pick the relevant characteristic and sorting
condition from table below.
Last digit of your Student ID Characteristic of the object
Metallic and Non-metallic bottle caps
Bottle caps has three colors: Red, Green,
0, 3, 6 Orange
Sorting object: Red colored metallic bottle
caps
Fluid filled and non-filled plastic cans
Plastic cans have three color coatings on its
1, 4, 6, 8 surface: Red, Green, Orange
Sorting object: Green colored fluid filled
plastic cans
Transparent and reflective packaging boxes
2, 5, 9,7
(10 cm x 6 cm x 3 cm)

1
 Transparent and reflective packaging boxes
has three colors: Red, Green, Orange
Sorting object: Red colored

You may use suitable number of sensor mounts (sideway sensor mount or top sensor mount)
while having an optimum design plan to place them. The sensor mounts should not obstruct
the motion of the objects on the conveyor at any point.

All the actuators must be pneumatic components and they must operate by means of input
signals. The number of sensors used in the design should be the optimal number in order to
reduce the complexity and cost of the design.

Part I: Design
a. Define the requirements of the automated system and the sequence of operation.
b. Select suitable components to obtain inputs and provide outputs.
c. Identify suitable locations for the installation of above components and propose suitable
mounting.
d. Describe the reason for selecting each of the above component and their placement at
suggested locations.
e. Refer available datasheets of components available in the market and propose suitable
components for the system. Use information in the datasheets (key parameters of a
relevant component) to explain the reason for your choice.

Part II: PLC Programming and Simulation

a. Prepare the symbols table to represent the selected sensors and actuators in the ladder
diagram.
b. Design a ladder diagram to be downloaded into the Programmable Logic Controller.
c. Simulate using the designed program and provide results (In addition to PLC
simulation, you may use FluidSim software if necessary).

Part III – Demonstration

a. Students should modify their program in Part II to match the available setup in
laboratory and conduct the demonstration according to the provided requirements.